Bruch's Membrane Opening Minimum Rim Width Provides Objective Differentiation between Glaucoma and Nonglaucomatous Optic Neuropathies.

PURPOSE: A challenging clinical scenario is distinguishing between normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and non-glaucomatous optic neuropathies (NGON). The key to the assessment remains identifying the presence of optic nerve head cupping. Recent optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements now allow objective assessment of cupping by minimum rim width at Bruch's membrane opening (MRW-BMO). This study assessed the hypothesis that the MRW-BMO measurement quantifies cupping and therefore can differentiate between NTG and NGON.

DESIGN

Diagnostic evaluation with area under the curve.

METHODS

Setting

multicenter tertiary hospitals and outpatient clinics.

PATIENT POPULATION: 81 eyes of 81 patients were enrolled, 27 with NTG and 54 with NGON, including ischemic optic neuropathy, previous optic neuritis, and compressive and inherited optic neuropathies. All NGON patients with intraocular pressure >21 mm Hg, narrow drainage angles, or a family history of glaucoma were excluded. Observational procedure: optic disc OCT images were obtained of both the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and the MRW-BMO.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: the utility of the MRW-BMO in differentiating GON from NGON was assessed using the area under the curve (AUC) estimated from a logistic regression model.

RESULTS

The 5-fold cross-validated AUC for glaucoma versus nonglaucoma from logistic regression models using MRW-BMO values from all sectors was 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.86-1.00).

CONCLUSIONS

The measurement of MRW-BMO effectively differentiates between NTG and NGON with a high level of sensitivity and specificity. Incorporating this measurement into routine glaucoma assessment may provide a robust method of assisting clinicians to improve diagnosis and therefore treatment of optic nerve diseases.